Gordon D. Pease

1897 - 1962

Goshen’s 23rd Mayor

1939 - 1942

Gordon D. Pease Fatally Stricken

Former Mayor Of Goshen
Dies After Watching TV Game

Gordon D. Pease, 65, a former mayor of Goshen and prominent for many years in Masonic circles, died unexpectedly in a heart attack shortly before 5 p. m. Saturday after having watched the Minnesota-Purdue football game on television in his home, 312 South Sixth Street.

Mr. Pease, a 33rd Degree Mason, had suffered from a heart ailment for a number of years but he had been in normal health in recent months. The city ambulance was called but efforts at resuscitation by crewmen were futile.

Long associated with the Goshen Rubber Company, Mr. Pease was widely known in manufacturing circles until he retired several years ago. He was elected mayor of Goshen in 1937 after winning the Republican nomination on a flip of a coin when he and Wallace Mehl ran a dead heat in the primary election. He served one term as mayor, leaving the office in 1942.

The 33rd Degree in Masonry was conferred on Mr. Pease in Chicago in 1953. He was a past officer in all local Masonic bodies and a member of the Knights of the York Cross of Honor, a past prior of Priory No. 8, past grand high priest of the Grand Chapter of Indiana, Royal Arch Masons, a past sovereign of the Red Cross Consistory, a member of the South Bend Scottish Rite and a past patron of the Order of the Eastern Star.

A veteran of World War I, in which he served two years at sea with the Navy, Mr. Pease was a member of the Goshen Post, No. 30, of the American Legion. He was also a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Goshen.

Born in Goshen June 2, 1897, Mr. Pease was a son of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Pease. His father founded the Pease Rubber Company, which later became the Goshen Rubber Company. Mr. Pease, who referred to himself as a “four generation Pease” had been a lifelong resident of Goshen.

Surviving him are his widow, the former Helen B. Weatherwax, to whom Mr. Pease was married Feb. 3, 1920; a daughter, Sister Mary Gordon, Chicago; two sisters, Mrs. Morris (Blanche) Cripe, Dunlap, and Mrs. Marjorie Niccum, Syracuse; a brother, Vernon J. Pease, Los Angeles, Calif.; and a number of niece and nephews.

The body is at the Culp Funeral Home where friends will be received until the body is taken to the Masonic Temple, corner of Fifth and Jefferson Streets, at l p.m. Wednesday to lie in state until funeral services at 2 p.m. The Rev. Andrew Hardie will conduct the funeral services. Masonic services will also be held at the temple and at Oak Ridge Cemetery. The Order of the Eastern Star will conduct a memorial service at 8:30 p. m. Tuesday at the Culp Funeral Horne.

The Goshen News, Monday November 19, 1962, page 1